Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a control device to be placed on a valve block of an antilocking system, including a conductor track carrier on which an electronic circuit for controlling the valves is disposed and which is thermally coupled to a wall of the valve block. The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing the control device.
German Patent DE 195 18 518 C1 discloses a control device for an antilocking system of a motor vehicle, in which heat generated by power components is intended to be dissipated outward. To that end, a first printed circuit board is fastened flat against a side wall of a valve block, through the use of which the heat generated by the power components is dissipated outward. A second printed circuit board is disposed perpendicular to the first printed circuit board and is electrically connected to it through the use of bonding wires. Coils which are disposed on the second printed circuit board electromagnetically actuate the valves of the valve block.
In the production of the control device, the valve block of the antilocking system must be supplied by the manufacturer of the brake system to the manufacturer of the electronic control device since the printed circuit board with the power components must be fastened directly to the valve block. Furthermore, separate respective process steps are necessary in order to equip each of the two printed circuit boards and to produce an electrical connection between the printed circuit boards.
European Patent 0 499 670 B1 has disclosed a valve control device which has a housing that contains two printed circuit boards connected to each other through cables, wherein one printed circuit board has an electronic circuit and the other printed circuit board contains valve coils. The control device is supplied by the electronics manufacturer to the maker of an ABS braking system, who merely has to place the control device on a valve block and attach it there.
In order to produce that control device, two printed circuit boards must be handled in separate process steps, inserted into a relatively costly housing, and connected to the valve coils, a plug, and each other. A subsequent soldering in the housing is required, which takes up free spaces that cannot be used for other things. In order to provide the sealing of the housing and the covering of the printed circuit board in relation to the engine compartment, an additional plastic cover is required, which must be sealed with a liquid seal and hardened. As a rule, a pressure compensation element must be installed for the purpose of pressure compensation in the volume between the printed circuit board and the housing cover.